CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Julius Mattila's deflected centering pass beat Sam Tucker with less than six minutes left in the third period, lifting No. 5 Boston College past rival Boston University 4-3 on Saturday night in the Battle of Comm Ave at sold out Kelley Rink.
Mattila finished the night with a goal and two assists, while Logan Hutsko tallied a pair of goals. The duo's linemate David Cotton also collected two assists to give BC's top line its fourth seven-point performance of the season along with a plus-8 rating.
The Eagles improved to 13-1-0 in their last 14 games. They now sit at 15-5-0 (9-3-0 HEA) in a tie for second place, while the Terriers fell to 8-8-5 (5-4-4 HEA).
Boston College held BU to just 18 shots on goal as Spencer Knight stopped 15 for the 14th victory of his rookie campaign.
Patrick Curry led the way for the Terriers with a pair of goals as the teams traded tallies throughout the night.
Hutsko's goals were his team-leading 12th and 13th of the year. Rookie Mike Hardman also tallied his sixth goal of the year on a wraparound in the first period.
BU went 1-for-4 on the power play, snapping a run of 13 straight kills for BC, while the Eagles came up empty on four chances.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st 9:00, BC Goal (1-0) • Mattila stretched Hutsko into the BU zone against a defender, but Hutsko leaned in and cut to his forehand before slipping a shot five-hole.
1st 16:10, BU Goal (1-1) • Domenick Fensore dropped a pass along the right wing for Patrick Harper, who drifted into the slot and wristed a shot inside the left post blocker side.
1st 17:25, BC Goal (2-1) • A Ben Finkelstein poke check at neutral ice allowed Hardman to gain the BU zone. Hardman cut around the net on a wraparound and slipped a low shot under Tucker's stick.
2nd 9:37, BU Goal (2-2) • Knight denied Logan Cockerill on the doorstep off a centering pass from Cam Crotty, but Curry batted the rebound inside the left post.
3rd 4:19, BC Goal (3-2) • Cotton won a puck battle in the left corner and muscled the puck to Mattila behind the net. The senior slipped a pass to the front for an open Hutsko to one-time past Tucker.
3rd 5:36, BU Goal (3-3) • Trevor Zegras turned a pass into the high left slot for Curry, who one-timed a shot into the top right corner over Knight's glove.
3rd 14:20, BC Goal (4-3) • Cotton created a turnover at the red line and Mattila skated down the left wing. The senior sent an aerial pass toward the back door for Hutsko, but it deflected off David Farrance's back and sent Tucker the wrong way.
UP NEXT
Boston College hosts Maine for a two-game series next weekend on Friday (Jan. 24) at 7 p.m. and Saturday (Jan. 25) at 8 p.m. on the Heights.
